Band:	Amputated
Album:	Wading Through Rancid Offal
Style:	Brutal death metal
Release date:	November 2009

01. Slam Pig
02. Dripping Ovipositor
03. Psycho-Doctrinal Lobotomization
04. Projectile Beer Vomit
05. Repugnant Genital Deformity
06. Uterus Swollen With Festering Putrescence
07. Cunt Like A Sewer
08. Wading Through Rancid Offal
09. Regenerate The Carnifex

On their 2009 album Wading Through Rancid Offal, brutal death metallers Amputated shifted into new, slammier territory than they were used to. They didn't change the style of all of their riffs, exactly, so much as add some slams on top of the brutal death-style riffs they've always written - with mixed results, along with adding some new vocal experiments.

The weird thing about Amputated's mesh of brutal death and slam on Wading... is that the slams sound pretty fucking good, but some of the more brutal death-style riffs, which they have more experience with, lack something. Whereas the slams are pretty well written and really showcase the tone quality of the guitars through the satisfying crunch of the palm-muted power chords - with the help of a much better production quality than what Gargling With Infected Semen, their previous album, had, many (though not all) of the more brutal death-style, legato, non-palm-muted riffs here tend to be kind of a flurry of notes, without much structure to them, and don't really stick in your head much.

Throughout the whole album, no matter what riffs are being used, Arlett's drumming helps bring out the best in them, and his drum parts really help drive the album along. Byles' bass lines are a bit quieter on Wading? than they were on Gargling? though, which is kind of disappointing.

Along with a shift in riff style came a shift in Pearce's vocals. His gutturals are really well honed on this album (production quality helps here, too), and show some pretty good variation. Added to his usual guttural growl and a higher-pitched growl, both used on other albums, comes a kind of muffled guttural style that sounds like the offspring of a wolf fucking a toad. If you're into weird/interesting vocal tone qualities, Pearce's wolf-toad will undoubtedly please.

One thing that the band couldn't seem to figure out how to do well on Wading? is transition between sections of a song. They pretty much just jump from each one to the next. Some bands are good at doing that, by building up energy and then switching to a new section with a new riff. But the way Amputated did it here can kind of sound like crap sometimes - especially when the riff they're coming off of and the riff they're going to aren't much alike. A few times they jump from one key, tempo and scale to a different key, tempo and scale with pretty much no bridge in between them.

A lackluster riff here and there, quiet bass parts, and crappy transitions aside, this really isn't a bad album. The slams, drum parts, vocals and production quality make it worth listening to. If you're into death metal, or just want to hear what a wolf-toad sounds like, check out Wading Through Rancid Offal.